ELIXIR-UK role in bioinformatics training at the national level and across ELIXIR

L Larcombe; R Hendricusdottir; T K Attwood; F Bacall; N Beard; L J Bellis; W B Dunn; J M Hancock; A Nenadic; C Orengo; B Overduin; S-A Sansone; M Thurston; M R Viant; C L Winder; C A Goble; C P Ponting; G Rustici

doi:10.12688/f1000research.11837.1

ELIXIR-UK role in bioinformatics training at the national level and across ELIXIR

F1000Res. 2017 Jun 21:6:ELIXIR-952. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.11837.1. eCollection 2017.

Authors

L Larcombe¹, R Hendricusdottir¹, T K Attwood², F Bacall², N Beard², L J Bellis³, W B Dunn⁴, J M Hancock⁵, A Nenadic⁶, C Orengo⁷, B Overduin⁸, S-A Sansone⁹, M Thurston⁹, M R Viant⁴, C L Winder⁴, C A Goble², C P Ponting¹, G Rustici³

Affiliations

¹ MRC Human Genetics Unit, The Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
² School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
³ Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK.
⁴ Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
⁵ Earlham Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UZ, UK.
⁶ The Software Sustainability Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
⁷ University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
⁸ Edinburgh Genomics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FL, UK.
⁹ Oxford e-Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QG, UK.

Abstract

ELIXIR-UK is the UK node of ELIXIR, the European infrastructure for life science data. Since its foundation in 2014, ELIXIR-UK has played a leading role in training both within the UK and in the ELIXIR Training Platform, which coordinates and delivers training across all ELIXIR members. ELIXIR-UK contributes to the Training Platform's coordination and supports the development of training to address key skill gaps amongst UK scientists. As part of this work it acts as a conduit for nationally-important bioinformatics training resources to promote their activities to the ELIXIR community. ELIXIR-UK also leads ELIXIR's flagship Training Portal, TeSS, which collects information about a diverse range of training and makes it easily accessible to the community. ELIXIR-UK also works with others to provide key digital skills training, partnering with the Software Sustainability Institute to provide Software Carpentry training to the ELIXIR community and to establish the Data Carpentry initiative, and taking a lead role amongst national stakeholders to deliver the StaTS project - a coordinated effort to drive engagement with training in statistics.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; ELIXIR-UK; Genomics; Impact; Metabolomics; Structural Bioinformatics; TeSS; Training.

Grants and funding

ELIXIR-UK is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council (grant numbers BB/L005069/1 and BB/P017193/1). ELIXIR-EXCELERATE project is funded by the European Commission within the Research Infrastructures programme of Horizon 2020 (grant number 676559).